An arrest was made in a nearly 20-year-old
kidnapping cold case, state police
announced Wednesday.
Police said that on Sept. 19, 1999, Timothy
Nelson of Maryland abducted a 10-year-old
girl from a street in Shade Township, put
her in his car and drove to West Virginia,
where he sexually assaulted her.
Nelson released the girl the same day of
the assault, police said, but after an
extensive investigation law enforcement
agencies weren't able to develop any leads
Police said in 2004, a DNA analysis connected
the kidnapping to two other unsolved
kidnapping cases in 1988 in Hagerstown,
Maryland, but no arrests were made.
Police continued to investigate, and in
2018, Nelson, now 50, was identified through
his fingerprints.
Nelson was arrested Tuesday morning at the
Cumberland Police Department, according to
officials.
Nelson currently faces 23 charges including
rape of a child and kidnap to facilitate
felony, and is awaiting his preliminary
hearing.